348 Tasting Notes

85

This was more unusual than the typical Ceylons I’ve tried. The character of it was robust, malty…but in contrast to that also had a smooth, floral delivery. I attribute the oddities to the fact that it’s a low-grown, whole leaf varietal. If the initial aroma doesn’t grab you, nothing will – like chocolate-covered cherries dipped in brandy.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/02/04/review-teavert-vithanakande-op1-2/

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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80

While it seemed odd to be enjoying a tea called “Sunshine Reggae” in the dead of rainy winter, it was a welcome cup of green blending…even though I had no clue where the green tea was in the blend. Lemon (myrtle and -grass) dominated the taste, followed shorty by a spicy-citrus lean from the orange peels and ginger. I was thankful that the chamomile and ginger were understated. Overall, a solid botanical blend.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/02/08/review-tealish-sunshine-reggae/

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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94

Tea on nitro. Wow. I had already made my frivolous tea purchase for the month, but a discussion on Twitter between me and three others caused my curiosity to swell. I had heard of GABA teas before, never understood the fuss of it all, and chalked up the health benefits claims to “hooey”…like biodynamics.

For instant gratification, I went to The Jasmine Pearl HQ to test drive the stuff. The host and hostess politely humored my request, and steeped it gongfu-style three times. Each time, the flavor profile was pretty much the same; creamy, fruit-like, mildly leafy, and zero oolong “chalkboard-on-tongue” feeling. And it packed a wallop of strength each steep.

I’m not sure if it did anything to my…uh…“neurotransmitters”. I was still hurling expletives at rush hour traffic on the way home. But I felt good while do it, if that says something.

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68

Okay, I’ll admit it. I bought this yesterday simply for the fact that it had “Gold” in its name. Given my recent lucky streak with golden tipped teas – including a Golden Tipped Assam – I thought Darjeeling could turn out something equally noteworthy. I was wrong. For the most part.

This is a very average autumnal flush. The brew smells interesting enough on splashdown – yielding the quintessential muscatel nose and a light liquor – but that’s where the magic ends. On taste, it is crisp (which is nice), minimal in its astringency (also nice)…and that’s about it. Very middle-of-the-road, this Darjeeling autumnal.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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89

When I received a sample of this, it was under the title Cranberry Orange Vanilla…but the website calls it Cranberry Autumn. And the aforementioned namesake belonged to a rooibos blend. This was certainly not that.

It is as it advertises to me, high on the fruit-creamy lean, not as much on subtlety. But I kinda love that about NecessiTeas stuff. They’re out there like the most extroverted tea on the market. This one is well within those regs.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/30/review-the-necessiteas-cranberry-autumn-green/

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
TheNecessiTeas

Yes I did use the wrong label for this sample so for all who received it I do apologize!! :)

Geoffrey Norman

It’s okay. Still tasted great. :-)

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100

Oh, Jin Cha, how you’ve ruined me. I had a note for this up from several months back, but it was in error. That was actually a note for the Tippy South Cloud – a Dian Hong. Totally the wrong tea. This…was a Yunnan Gold Bud with everything I loved about the tippy tea. Honey-ish texture, fruit-ish lean, creamy finish. No black tea negatives. Again…I should’ve picked up some, but I wanted to try it first. Next time. Next time. Oooooh, so yum!

Geoffrey Norman

I swear it’s just been the Yunnan Golds. I haven’t encountered a tea type quite like it. :-)

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84

It’s been a good couple of years since I’ve had a kukicha. I remember liking it a lot (much more so than genmaicha), but the opportunity to have one never surfaced. I’m glad I selected this for review because it made for a wonderful creamy/nutty, rainy afternoon cuppa more reminiscent of an unrefined Chinese green. It has more nuance than your average Shizuoka sencha – a bit more going on than just “grass”. I would gladly turn to it again if hard-pressed to decide on a good, smooth green.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/02/02/review-drink-the-leaf-kuki-cha/

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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100

Since I’m on such a Yunnan Gold kick lately, I felt it was time to revisit this. This time, though, I obeyed the brewing instructions on the Jasmine Pearl website. Instead of boiling water, I dialed it down to 190F (oolong-ish). The result was sheer perfection. That does it. This type is my favorite black tea ever. I have decided.

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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100

A couple of friends and I had just finished a happy hour run, but we still had time to kill. A tea place lay across the street. So, naturally, that was my suggestion. They went for the bubble tea (blegh), whereas I went with this. If I were to never drink another type of black tea again except one, this would be that one. And others like it. Dunno what it is about Yunnan Golds, but they take the creamy cake. My only regret is that I didn’t have the forethought to pick up an ounce to bring home.

91

Brought friends with to Smith HQ. While they were having their respective tasting flights, I ordered a full pot of their Yunnan. I didn’t remember trying it the last three times I’d ventured there. While not explicitly stated as being a Dian Hong, it had the earthy, and mid-astringent character of one. There was a bit of a nectarine nuance there, but not as much as a Yunnan Gold. Still, I enjoyed it quite immensely.

PS ~ It only took me ten minutes to down the (almost) 24oz pot. Make of that what you will.

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I moonlight as a procrastinating writer and daylight as a trader of jack. I appreciate good tea, good beer, and food that is bad for me. Someday I’ll write the great American novel. And it’ll probably have something to do with tea or beer…or both. In the meantime, I subsist.

Tea Blog: http://www.steepstories.com

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